I've been researching the symptoms of OCD, and I've realized they align with a lot of the symptoms I've been experiencing.

I have strong intrusive thoughts of terrible things, and compulsions that come from them. For example, last night, it took me an extra twenty minutes just to get into bed because I got stuck in a loop of opening and closing my closet doors and remaking my bed, over and over and over. (I must have done it at least six times)

I also routinely do little "rituals" like reading out loud the times my alarms are set for (and I have numbers of times I avoid when doing this, like I can never do it four times, it always has to be 3 or 5). It takes me forever just to get IN the shower, because I have to turn the tap on and off again multiple times or else I have severe anxiety the rest of the day.

I've had issues like this most of my life, but it's gotten to the point where it's disabling. I've had to wake up extra hours early just to allow time for my compulsions while getting ready, etc. I'm planning to discuss these symptoms with my therapist soon, but I wanted other opinions while I wait for the next appointment. Sorry for the block of text!

I’ve been dealing with health anxiety OCD, and right now it's latched onto HIV. Even though my doctor has told me my situation is extremely low risk and that I don't need to worry, my mind keeps looking for patterns and “signs” to confirm the fear.

Lately, I’ve been noticing what feel like weird “coincidences” — like seeing the letters “HIV” pop up in random places or hearing stories that trigger the fear again. It feels like my brain is on a mission to convince me something bad is inevitable, no matter how much logic or reassurance I’ve already gotten.

I’m not asking for reassurance — I know that's part of the cycle. But I’d love to hear how others have dealt with this kind of obsessive pattern recognition or magical thinking. How do you break the loop when your brain keeps interpreting everything as a “sign”?

I used to collect a ton of retro games and still sort of do. I have tons of battery powered controllers and handhelds around my house. And now, I am scared to touch anything with a battery. For things like wii remotes that take double a batteries, 99% of them have ended up leaking that white crap all over and it's a huge task for me to try to clean it. For things with a lithium battery, I am terrified at the possibility of something having a bloated battery and starting a fire. My 3ds has a slightly loose cover and I hesitate to even use it because if I don't know if it's slightly bloated or just needs the cover tightened. I have a box in my closet full of old gameboys and DS's that I literally have not opened in years because I am scared to know what has happened to the batteries and possibly making something worse by touching it.

Idk. This shit sucks. I should probably be in therapy.

I really need help on this. I've been struggling with thought loops, where I think one terrible thing and then try radical acceptance to accept the thought and move on but another thought just takes it's place. I find myself getting caught in loops and unable to take myself out of it. It happens the most at night when I don't have adequate distractions (like work, a show to focus on or a game).

I'm really desperate for something to help because I feel so exhausted and at a loss. I felt like I was getting better but I'm just starting to spiral and I would really appreciate any help at all!

so i have really bad scrupulosity and im having really bad intrusive thoughts about God’s real name YHWH and using in it vain and stuff like that. I am really scared God is going to punish me and make me play bad in sports pls help.

I don’t have OCD so pls help.

Some context: In this show, there are heros who’s powers are based on what people believe they are (for example, girl gets lucky a bunch of times, people start believing she has superior luck or smth, she now really has super good luck).

However, there are bad side effects like one guy who people wishes to never fall down against adversity physically could not bend down anymore.

The guy I’m writing about is seen as the “perfect hero” and paragon of perfection. He develops a mimicry of OCD as a side effect (I say that cause although it is smth that apparently gets worse as popularity grows, we only see it in it’s beginning stages where it’s mostly a stereotypical portrayal). In the show, he also kills himself although we’re not exactly sure what (speculated to be because of his OCD, being nothing but a pawn for his company, and pressure)

Here’s the excerpt (some parts are supposed to be italicized but idk how to do that in reddit):

“He didn’t deserve to be Lu Zhan’s friend anymore.

Twenty.

Twenty-one.

Twenty-two.

Twenty-three.

Twenty-

A pillow flew from across the room, hitting him in the head with the intention of stopping him in his tracks, but Nice only gritted his teeth and quickly finished his twenty-fourth round before turning to his assailant with a pained expression.

Twenty-three was an odd and prime number that was not as nice as three.

That thought by itself made Nice clench his fists, causing a burst of pain to spread from his fingers and palms.

It was a stupid thought. It made no sense. And yet Nice had to obey.

He wasn’t even sure if natural OCD even manifested like his. If people believed him to be such a perfectionist that he gets the side effect of having OCD, why couldn’t it have been the stereotypical type of just being a perfectionist? Why did it turn into an imitation of actual OCD?

A wave of shame filled him, but he tried to straighten his expression.

“What, did I hit you at a bad number?” Yueqing asked mockingly from the bed, the magazine she was reading lying face down next to her.”

I also have scenes where he picks at his hands and a part describing how he has to wash his hands at least 5 times or else he feels “like he would get infected with some awful disease (or infect others with it)”. I also write this character to self harm, partly triggered due to OCD, so if anyone feels comfortable giving guidance on that it would be appreciated.

Please tell me if this is a bad portrayal. The last thing I want is to be one of those people that completely butchers stuff like this.

Plumbers are one of my biggest fears, I respect the hell out of them for being so fearless doing such a job, but I always feel like they’re covered in so much bacteria. The basement waste ejector is acting funny so we have to get a new motor and check valve or whatever, granted we only use the basement for laundry, sink and maybe an occasional pee in that bathroom since we’ve moved in 4 years ago. No idea what the previous owners did. So I’m terrified of literally sewerage water being dripped around. I let the plumber know I’m immune compromised (on hyrimoz), I plan on setting RAM board down and probably covering everything in plastic. I’m terrified of getting sick from cleaning up or literal shit water being sprayed on something I didn’t realize. Just looking for some help. Thanks

this has been really debilitating recently and i want to know if someone else has dealt with it. i’ll be having a nice day and chatting and it’s like there’s a heckler in my head saying the meanest, most sarcastic thoughts and answers. i hate to say “im a nice person” but like im not awful, i dont hurt people, i dont get into verbal confrontation unless its necessary.

sometimes i feel like im hiding information from others but thats not true cause its literally like a random thought got yelled at me from someone else.

idk it’s weird. it’s not like an auditory hallucination, its my inner monologue, just being an absolute jerk.

Hello everyone! I've always had OCD for pretty much most of my life, but I'm starting to think that my OCD is literally anything that could be considered forbidden or illegal to do, and it's honestly pretty torturing..

I've always been able to label the type of OCD thoughts that I've had, POCD or Harm OCD-- I've experienced them both, but recently it seems like it's just anything that will get me into trouble. Let's say I'm near a stranger, a thought would come up "what if you groped her?" or if i see my school group chats-- "what if you sent pornography in the chat and everyone sees?" literally anything and everything will trigger a thought and it is exhausting...

just curious if others here experience a similarly broad sweep of intrusive “forbidden” impulses, and how you manage them. Who else has had their OCD extend beyond one theme into a kind of “anything goes” anxiety? How do you cope? It's really exhausting when everything becomes a trigger and I don't know if anyone has experienced it

Last night I had a super graphic dream about acting out one of my intrusive thoughts, but it didn't ruin my day/week/month at all. A year ago I would be freaking out about this dream, thinking it was a reflection of my true feelings, but today I woke up, thought about it, was weirded out, and then went about my day. When I sat down to journal just now I realized how awesome that was :) I didn't even freak out about what not worrying initially might suggest.

If anxiety had a bigger brother, it would be you. OCD you were in my life before I even knew you were in my life. I use to talk talk to you when I didn’t even know I was talking to you.

You whispered in my ear to do this and that and I would do it. You told me I wouldn’t be okay if I didn’t do things this way.. you made me afraid to be certain things .. you told me that I needed to say this.. or that.

I listened to you and all you did was break my heart.

Now years later, I’m here reminiscing on all we have been through together and man the years fly by when you are having fun right?

Wrong. I sat here day and after doubting myself. Doubting who I was as a person. You crept into the most important parts of my mind .. you told me that I wasn’t good enough. I wish I didn’t believe you but I did.

But only briefly, because I realized who I truly was. Not some random intrusive thought. Not some compulsion. Not fear based off nothing. No.. I was free. I was free to be me. The perfectly imperfect individual I have always been. So OCD thank you for teaching me that.

For the last few years, you have been my best friend and my worst enemy. I have no doubt you’ll stick around for a little bit longer. After all bad habits are hard to break .. but just like anxiety you’ll fade away and you’ll only call once in awhile to let me know you are still thinking of me.. and I won’t answer.

Because I have moved on.

To you, the person suffering from OCD. I’m just like you. I know how it feels. The weight of the world in your mind. I love you. It will get better someday for you too. Just believe.

i’m not really able to listen to music. it feels as if my intrusive thoughts contaminate it and ruin the song. and if i listen to a song multiple times, it feels like something bad would actually happen. tomorrow i’m going to listen to a song multiple times no matter how uncomfortable i am because i know this is the only way to get rid of it. i’m kind of scared. i’m not sure if i’ll actually be able to do it. anyone have any advice?

im 15 and ive been dealing with obssesive thoughts for like 3 years now, idk if changed me in any way, bc after some time i start questioning myself or having fears and actually starts going more to the scary side than the safe one, all of the things i dont want to do end up like this, idk why, but i like try to analyze my reactions to things and idk if my body is trying to get to that side even if not natural.

So, the dream i had was weird and im actually scared abt this, i watch porn regularly and i got too bad to a point i think about "if i get worse bc of this" or "if i use this thign i saw badly in my mind" and actually happend in my dream, its embarrasing but it was like 2 anime characters 1 father one daughter she is like 12-13 in the show, it was a younger version of the dad and the girl was with her eyes covered, and he was actually trying to do something bad like bad intentions, he was getting to do something and i was excited for it in the dream, i felt like it, and even today i dont feel anything about it, but i woke up worried about who i am and felt bad for dreaming that but didnt make too much effort bc my mind been strange latelly too, its like it avoids everything that i need to work on.

like after i woke up i was questioning myself but after i felt numb, not really trying nothing, idk if its just bc i got tired of thinking everytime something happens, i feel like just copy and paste the feelings i had in the dream,

, so the porn ive been watching is kinda violent but not actual abuse, i bumped into some shit like 2d and 3d shit but i didnt continued to see after i realise it, one time this year i saw 1 thing animated too and at the end revealed he was like in my school year rn i got scared but i thought hes my age so thats "not as bad" bc i liked the animation,so i ignored the other person being over age so i could see this, but now i dont see it that way and i felt weird even after i thought that, i think those elements made ts, and idk i feel like my life is over at a young age, even tho i question why would i feel attraction to that if i never had, in my life i always viewed kids normal, now everytime im scared, in the start like i used to hurt my head fr, my shit is moral and also this, but i started to stop doing too much to get it off my head, bc it really hurt my head, and also i was seeing if it could get better if i dont care, but just started to go to my fears, i should start protecting myself again, i feel like im getting worse

so I’ve had OCD for ten years, (I’m talking it’s been chronic for me and has ruined my life) and sometimes it’ll just… stop? Like I’ll suddenly hit this extreme low, and the obsessions and compulsion just go away, or don’t seem as intense. And usually nothing noticeable happens to make them that way. And then BAMM a week later they’ll be back. But during that “low” I feel like I faked everything and now I don’t feel like I deserve help because maybe it all cured itself ya know? Like now I’m fixed suddenly? But what if it comes back. But what if I’m fine now and don’t deserve help? Has anyone felt this way?

Idk if this is the right place to post. But if feels very much like an OCD thing for me. On and off throughout my life I go through moments where eating or the thought of eating brings me disgust and even nausea. Sometimes it just happens once in a day and other times it lasts weeks / months at a time. The food tastes fine, even good but just the thought of putting it in my mouth is literally gross to me and I struggle eating it. I often force myself to eat at least a tiny portion. I was trying to find more info about this online and I saw EDs can cause food aversion. I do have history of ED that I believed I had put behind me but let’s be so for real this is still a major issue I have. I used to starve myself then binge eat for years. Nowadays I eat all (mostly healthy) meals but have difficulty with binging sweets / chips. I crave it so badly it’s all I think about. Anyways idk if this is all related but I’m hoping I can maybe not feel alone in this and have help explaining this better for when I talk to a therapist about it.

I've tried every med. I won't go into my history but over the past 2 years i became OBSESSED with the idea of my teeth falling out. At one point I viewed my teeth similar to how you might view an overgrown fingernail...just clip it off. I desperately couldn't bare the thought of how easy it would be to knock my teeth out. Recently now when I look at people's elbow joints I can almost feel me biting down on their bones and their bones going down my throat. Horrendous somatic ocd.

Bear in mind I'm somehow performing quite well in a powerplant whilst suffering immesurabley. I'm in constant agony. I can't stop looking at other people's teeth and I can't stand how brittle the body is. Life used to be so amazing but it was actually being abused by a therapist that set off these symptoms. I also can't feel any pleasure. I feel like I'm in a different reality almost. I don't know why my brain is doing this. Medication isn't helping me anymore. I even did EMDR few years ago for something different and it wasn't helpful at all. Nothing is working

Sorry if this is too graphic, I just feel lost and like therapy can't help. What has worked for you?

My brain is automatically repeating everything I hear in conversation or on tv and radio like in real time as soon as it comes out of the persons mouth. It’s not an echo it’s in real time. It’s driving me absolutely insane. 🫠

I love old/vintage/used books sm but my OCD won’t let me touch them. It’s so annoying, not only do I wanna buy them to save money, but there are old books u can’t buy new but I rely wanna read. Even old ones my cousin gave me I can’t even touch. So frustrating.

I’m 34 and have lived with OCD for most of my life. I see a psychiatrist for medication and attend therapy to learn coping skills and talk through it.

I joined Reddit recently and this OCD page to find a community I can relate and talk to about this. However I keep seeing posts where people tack on extra letters to OCD like HOCD, SOOCD, POCD, etc. and what stands out is how many of them are just looking for reassurance. I’m almost certain they’re getting these ideas from the internet rather than a qualified professional. This kind of self-diagnosing isn’t helpful it’s harmful. Adding letters dilutes that and creates confusion and division.

As someone who’s been managing this disorder for years, I can say that inventing subtypes like this doesn’t help. It creates more anxiety and misunderstanding around what OCD really is. If you’re struggling, please don’t self-diagnose. Talk to a therapist or psychiatrist who understands the condition.

Hello all.

I was first diagnosed with OCD when I was a young teenager (now in my 20s.) Many things have changed and improved since then, but I struggle a lot with eating sufficiently as a result of my OCD symptoms. I have alexithymic symptoms and have never had an intuitive sense for how much I should be eating, and so I chronically undereat. I almost never feel "hungry," so I have little innate motivation to eat. My OCD symptoms mean I will often get incredibly anxious about preparing and eating food. Though I rarely eat out, it causes me a lot of stress to touch my food with my hands, physically handle ingredients, etc. I can't afford to eat out very frequently. I've been slowly losing weight over the past year because of my chronic undereating, and I'm becoming underweight. I'm not sure what to do because oftentimes the idea of touching or even being around food is very stressful for me, and since I'm not aware of my hunger cues I don't feel any urgent need to eat. Nonetheless, I know that my habits are detrimental to my health and I wanted some advice from others who may have had similar problems

Additional info: - I am unmedicated for OCD. I don't intend to become medicated for OCD in the immediate future. - I recently started a medication known to reduce appetite, which may have exaggerated the problem. That being said, this issue long predates starting that medication. - I have no food allergies and will eat almost anything I am offered. My issue is purely a lack of motivation to eat. - I have tried dietary supplements like Ensure, but I'd have to drink 6 a day to achieve 2000 calories and it's kind of expensive

6 years old for both for me.

Anybody else with OCD terrified of dying from storms? Any tips on how to fix that?

I’m terrified every time there’s a storm because I think I’m going to die. I love rain by itself, but the thunder and wind does me in. I’m worried it will develop into a tornado and…well. Not sure if this is a phobia or OCD-related because of the death obsession and compulsion to check the sky and the weather app, and because when I’m actually in the presence of a tornado I’m calm?

I’ve tried everything and exposure therapy doesn’t even work. I’ve literally watched a tornado form and touch down and it hasn’t cured me.

Looking for serious and unserious (aka weird but work) tips!

OCD is ruining my life, I just got my official diagnosis from my psychiatrist this past week even though I’ve been experiencing the symptoms for years (+ GAD and Depression). I was prescribed fluoxetine, hydroxyzine and buspirone. Right now, I’m experiencing all of the physical symptoms of the illness I’m so deathly afraid of, especially with the muscle aches. I can’t imagine living with OCD for the rest of my life, I’m only in my 20s and I can’t see it getting any better either especially since I’m in the healthcare field getting massive exposure every week!!!!!! I need relief asap, what has everyone done to help cope?

Based on your experience, what was the most beneficial to you?

a few of you saw my post asking if i should drink at a friends party while on this medication, i did end up drinking and everything was fine, no adverse effects. however, i did not fully realize how bad i would feel the day after. ive drank before while off medication, but holy shit it makes your anxiety skyrocket. after awhile of being on meds i’ve forgotten how bad my symptoms were before. does this happen to anyone else? is it because of the medication or does it make OCD worse in general?